Story by Larry Bowen
A&M Consolidated coaches were without their statistician, so they’ll have to watch video to determine how many rebounds Tori Carraway grabbed against Bryan.
Carraway won’t be hard to spot. The junior forward was all over floor Tuesday night, leading with her hustle as the 15th-ranked Lady Tigers dominated Bryan 65-39 in District 18-5A girls basketball action at Viking Gym.
If the video supports the game at a glance, Carraway should end up with between 15 and 20 rebounds to go with her game-high 19 points. The relentless 5-foot-9 Carraway helped Consol dominate the boards 47-32, and the Lady Tigers parlayed 22 offensive rebounds into 15 second-chance points.
“Tori was amazing,” Consol coach Karen Heintz said. “That’s what she does. She’s got length, and she’s so persistent. Tori is a warrior. She’s going to battle and do whatever it takes.
“We felt like she’d have a mismatch bringing the ball up the floor. Dadgum if she didn’t just bring it up and take it all the way and score.”
Most importantly, Carraway set an aggressive tone that her teammates mirrored defensively and while attacking the boards. The Lady Tigers forced 27 turnovers and allowed Bryan to shoot only 32 percent from the floor (16 of 49).
“[Consol] came in here ready to go, and they kicked our tails,” Bryan coach Beth Jesurun said. “You’ve got to give them credit. They played their butts off. We didn’t play very well, and part of that has to do with them.”
The matchup looked scary for Consol. The Lady Tigers have been without their top ball-handler for three weeks, and Bryan’s program has been trending up.
Bryan stayed within a point after the first quarter, but Consol took command with a dominating second period. The Lady Tigers outscored Bryan 20-7 in the quarter, forcing 10 turnovers and putting together a 15-2 run.
Senior guard Myeisha McAlister and junior guard Aerial Starks fueled the charge, comfortably handling the ball as Consol scored on fastbreaks and slicing drives to the basket. McAlister scored seven of her 14 points in the period.
Consol’s 31-17 halftime lead was built on 16 points after turnovers and 11 second-chance points.
“I’m very pleased,” Heintz said. “We felt like we made them work hard to score. Forced turnovers and rebounds, that is all a blue-collar team. That’s what we are. We work hard.”
The Lady Vikings got no closer than 11 points in the second half. Consol took a 42-29 advantage into the fourth quarter and extended it by making 10 of its last 14 shots.
Beth Ashley scored 14 points for Consol, which got eight from Starks and six from Dayquina Davis.
Lorenzia Nowlin and Jordan Lopez-Rhodes topped Bryan with eight points apiece.
Consol 65, Bryan 39
(numbers after names indicate field goals, free throws made-attempted, fouls, points)
CONSOL (26-4, 9-1) — LaDavia White 0 0-1 0 0; Myeisha McAlister 6 2-4 3 14; Aerial Starks 4 0-0 3 8; Tori Carraway 9 0-0 1 19; Briana Gooden 1 0-0 0 2; Dayquina Davis 2 2-4 1 6; McKenzie Dimery 0 0-2 0 0; Beth Ashley 4 4-4 2 14. Totals: 26 8-15 10 65.
BRYAN (15-13, 7-3) — Lorenzia Nowlin 3 2-5 3 8; Jordan Lopez-Rhodes 3 0-0 0 8; Kee Kee Nowlin 1 0-0 1 2; Keosha Lee 0 0-0 1 0; Keyoshia Washington 2 1-2 2 5; Davish Isaac 2 1-2 2 5; Faith Simpson 1 0-0 1 2; Chahnyce Foster 1 1-2 2 3; Chassiday Rusk 1 0-0 2 2; Kentavia Bowers 1 0-0 1 2. Totals: 16 5-11 15 39.
Consol 11 20 11 23 — 65
Bryan 10 7 12 10 — 39
Field goal shooting: Consol 27-64, Bryan 16-49.
3-point shooting: Consol 3-11, Bryan 2-7.
Rebounds: Consol 47, Bryan 32.
Turnovers: Consol 19, Bryan 27.
Courtesy of the B/CS Eagle